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By the beginning of 1996, The Cure had released nine studio albums and experienced numerous lineup changes. The band – now consisting of Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Perry Bamonte, Roger O’Donnell and Jason Cooper – had spent the last year finalising the recording of their wildly anticipated tenth LP, Wild Mood Swings (1996), after a period of commercial success and global stardom. Their previous release, Wish (1992), had been the most commercially successful album in the band's career, debuting at number one in the UK and number two in the US, where it sold more than 1.2 million copies. The sessions for Wild Mood Swings began in 1994, initially with only Robert Smith and Perry Bamonte present before the remaining band members joined the following year for the full recording sessions. As well as a new lineup, Wild Mood Swings saw the band experimenting with the use of live stings, brass instrumentation and prominent use of music software in the songwriting process. The critical reception to the album was muted when it released in May 1996, but it still charted admirably, reaching number nine on the UK Albums Chart and number 12 in the US Billboard 200. Before touring the album fully in May 1996, The Cure kicked off the year with two shows in Brazil for the ‘Hollywood Rock’ festival that took place in both Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro that year. The Rio show on 26th January was perhaps one of the finest shows The Cure played all year, offering the audience a taste of the upcoming new material alongside nearly two decades worth of fan favourites that spanned their entire career. In typical Cure fashion, the show was a mammoth affair that lasted well over two hours and saw the newly established lineup in electric form.